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Wednesday catch-all thread (5/20/20)

My guess is that everyone was excited thinking about the 2020 season back in January, thinking the Mets had a good shot at the postseason. Then the world turned upside down. Now, assuming they end up with an 80-game season, does that change the picture any? Are the Mets more or less likely to make the playoffs now? And let’s dream for a minute and pretend that the Mets end the year winning the World Series. Will it contain a giant asterisk since it didn’t come in a 162-game season? Would it be destined to be the ugly redheaded stepchild to ’69 and ’86? Or is it a flag that flies forever and a team that will be embraced without qualifications by all future generations?

The baseball record asterisk is tarnished after its misuse in the Roger Maris case, There have been shortened seasons in the past, 3 I believe, although not as much shortened as this year might be. It might be that somebody has a shot at batting .400, that would stir up some controversy

If you look at the standings on the 80th game of the Mets the over the past two years these teams would have been in the playoffs.
2019- LA,Atl,Chi,Mil and Col/Phi tied.
but COL,PHI and Chi didn’t make it in October.
2018- Mil,Atl,Az,Chi,Phi.
but Atl,Az and Phi didn’t make it in October.
The 2020 Mets team has depth and was assembled for a 162 game schedule.Based on the past two seasons, flawed, weaker teams could compete with a stronger team in a shorter season.Therefore the Mets will have a tougher time to make playoffs.
In 1972 there was a short season by about 7-9 games. Oakland won the WS and there is no asterisk. Interesting is that Boston came in second place by a half game because they played one less game than the east champion Tigers and didn’t make it to the playoffs.During the strike, a three game series was scrubbed out between the Tigers and the Red Sox which was never made up!!!
In 1981 a strike resulted in a split season and about 102 to 109 total games played by each team. World Champion Dodgers do not have an asterisk either after winning the WS.
Therefore there should not be an asterisk when the Mets win the 2020 season and embrace the flag!

In 1989, [Quisenberry] and catcher Todd Zeile made the first Q-Z battery. In 2013, Guillermo Quiroz caught the Giants’ Barry Zito for the first Z-Q battery. And in 2018, we had the first all-hyphenated battery when Isiah Kiner-Falefa caught Austin Bibens-Dirkx for the Rangers.